Reducing tyre rolling noise is now an important design issue to conform with stricter future tyre approval standards, which are expected to demand a reduction in maximum rolling noise emissions.
The present invention in particular is aimed at reducing pass-by noise produced by the tread band blocks cyclically impacting the pavement.
Patent Application US2004093106A1 describes a tread band with a raised pattern comprising a number of longitudinal and transverse grooves defining a number of blocks with a given longitudinal pitch, which varies along the tread band as a whole to achieve a given rolling noise emission.
Patent Application US2003040886A1 describes a method of analyzing the tire pitch sequence based on the lug stiffness variations.
Patent Applications WO2010032736A1 and WO2010032737A1 describes a method of designing a tire comprising: determining a resonance frequency based on the ground contact length, determining the number of pitches of a block row, and determining the phase of the block row.